Pit stop

11 August 2017 By Gina Chon Follow @GinaChon

The Teamsters have convinced U.S. lawmakers to exempt trucks from a bill allowing more autonomous vehicles on the roads. Granted, 3.5 mln jobs are at stake. But as Tesla joins Daimler and others in the big-rig tech race, it’d be smarter to prepare haulers for a career shift.

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The U.S. House of Representatives plans to vote on the first federal legislation on self-driving vehicles when lawmakers return from recess in September.

The bipartisan bill would allow manufacturers to eventually put an industry total of 100,000 vehicles a year on the road that don’t have traditional auto features, such as a steering wheel and foot pedals, or meet certain safety requirements.

Currently, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration grants 2,500 exemptions a year for vehicles that don’t have such standard features or safety requirements.

The proposal would require carmakers to submit safety-assessment reports to regulators, but does not mandate pre-market approval of new technology. The bill also prohibits states from setting rules on self-driving performance standards.

The measures only apply to vehicles weighing less than 10,000 pounds, which excludes large commercial trucks. That carve-out was sought by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which represents 1.4 million truck drivers, warehouse employees and other workers.

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